


Deimos and Eros

by fayegonin



Category: Kate Daniels - Ilona Andrews
Genre: Extrapolation of canon relationship, M/M, Some Plot, saiman is so fascinating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:24:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fayegonin/pseuds/fayegonin
Summary: A few chapters of Barabas and Christopher's relationship with a dose of interaction with Saiman.Takes place just after magic binds.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s complicated. I try to do my work, sort through all the stupid papers required to run this guild, but I just can’t focus. I tell myself that it is just the pain from these broken legs. After the battle, the med mages were overwhelmed, so I just got a cast and a pair of crutches. I’m a weremongoose, I’ll heal fast enough. My gaze flicks up to the man sitting in the rafters, the cause of my inability to concentrate.

One of the mercs walks in the door. “Hey, Barabas, can I have that check you said you had ready?”

I startle and try to remember the name. “Ella Lawrence, right?” I look around and try to recall if I had a check for her. I don’t think so. I say “The guild doesn’t owe you any money right now.”

She leans forward, giving me a nice look at her breasts. It doesn’t do anything for me, I’m gay. I raise an eyebrow and look at her face. “Come back after you’ve completed a gig.”

“Come on, Barabas, I need that money now.”

I reply calmly “I can forward you money, as per the guild’s usual repayment policy. Your credit is fine.”

“Yeah, but the repayment plan is crap.” Obviously, I wrote the policy myself. Mercs are notoriously unreliable when it comes to paying off debts. If they aren’t making excuses, they’re threatening you with swords and random magic. And they think they should be excused every time they are injured. Plus, do you realize how difficult it is to collect from someone after they die? It’s a nightmare. And if they die on the job, all the paperwork makes me cringe.

“I would be very grateful if you could help me, just this one time.”

I sigh and look her in the eyes, my anger coming out. “You know the rules. Go get a gig, or borrow with a repayment contract. Make up your mind or fuck off.”

Ella leans back, surprised by something. “Your eyes are red.” She seems just a tad uneasy.

I try to tone it down. “Long day.”

Ella nods and leaves quickly. I guess I just scared another mercenary. I glance back up to the rafters. Christopher is looking at me, amused. Right, he can tell whenever anyone nearby feels fear. I sigh and try to get through at least another page.

A few minutes later, Chris walks in. “Come on, let’s go home. You’re tired and grumpy and not getting anything done.” I bare my teeth at him. He smiles “I’ll drive.”

I ask “Do you even know how to drive?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

“I don’t know; why don’t you just fly everywhere?” I sound so stupid.

“And before that, I had to drive a car to get around.” I can’t tell what he is thinking. He grabs a pair of keys to one of the guild vehicles, then asks “Unless you would prefer to be carried through the sky?”

Is he mocking me or serious? I can’t tell. “The car is fine. I have to bring some of this home.” He passes me the crutches. I hate being injured.

Chris asks “You’re not even supposed to go back to work, and you already want to bring it home?”

“My brain works just fine.”

“Of course it does. That’s why you’re so annoyed.”

I take a deep breath “Fine, let’s go.” I swing out the door on crutches. Christopher locks the office behind me and we head to the car. The tech is up, so it is easy enough to start the car. Christopher starts driving, and we jerk to a stop at the first stop sign, narrowly missing a car crossing the intersection. “I thought you knew how to drive?”

Chris flashes me a devilish smile “It may have been a while.” I keep a firm grip on the handle the rest of the way home, taking a deep breath when we arrive in the driveway. Christopher laughs “Come on, I’m not that bad of a driver.” I roll my eyes and hobble into the house. He opens the door for me and tosses the keys onto a side table. I sit on the couch. Christopher sits next to me a minute or two later, despite the chair and the other couch. He has a book.

I ask “What are you reading?”

“I’m trying to learn everything I can about Deimos.”

“I thought you sort of were Deimos?”

Chris sighs “It’s complicated and I can’t figure out an explanation, so I am researching.”

I nod. I get that. But I’m pretty sure it won’t help in this case. I question “Well, what does it feel like?” Instincts are sometimes the way to go.

Christopher sighs and puts the book down. “Well, I went from very powerful Master of the Dead to being insane to having wings fangs and the ability to inspire terror. It’s sort of difficult to figure out what it is supposed to feel like.”

“Do you want me to just ask questions and you can answer them?”

“Sure, go ahead. It can’t hurt.”

“Where do the wings come from?”

“They are always there; I just have to focus on them to make them appear.”

“Same with the vampire fangs?”

“No, those show up when I want to feed.”

“Feed? On what?”

“Terror, blood, I’m not really sure. That’s part of a set of these weird instincts I have.”

“What do these instincts let you do?”

Chris sighs “All of the Deimos abilities, like flying, fighting and calling terror. They feel natural, but I know I haven’t always had them. My theory is that while I was crazy, these instincts and powers sort of found a place in my psyche. So they feel like they’ve always been there, but I don’t remember them.”

“So why not just trust your instincts?”

That got me raised eyebrow “I have the power of a god. I should be able to do a little more than fly around and scare people.”

“I think you do plenty, but sure. What happened to the rest of your power?”

“I can’t figure it out. I still have the same raw power, but I can’t seem to see undead minds anymore.”

“A while ago, you gave Kate a spell to transform a ghoul into a jinn.”

Chris frowns “Did I?”

“Some sort of alchemy? We had a jinn attack one of Clan Heavy a while ago.”

“Alchemy, was that why I was thinking about the viridis flammae? Did it work?”

“Apparently so.”

Christopher grins, and I am struck again by how beautiful he is. “I’m something of a genius, you know.” I roll my eyes and laugh with him.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple days later, we are over at Kate’s house. It is the weekend, and Curran is in charge of grilling hamburgers. Barabas, Kate, Derek and I are all sitting around a table telling stories. There is a pause in the conversation and I ask “Who has the best magic laboratory in the city?”

Kate asks “Why?”

I reply “I want to run a few tests.”

Barabas asks “On what?”

I reply “Myself, obviously.” They all stare at me. I reply “Hello, unique new being here. Please tell me some of you recognize the need for research into new magical phenomenon.”

Kate chokes a little, laughing. “Well, there’s biohazard.”

Barabas shrugs “They’re not likely to keep the results confidential, if they decide you’re a danger.”

I shake my head “Not acceptable, then.”

Barabas adds “Doolittle can probably do a lot of tests.”

I raise an eyebrow; I’ve been in the med ward of the Keep. “That would be great, for medical. I need some more sophisticated magical testing.”

Darek says one word “Saiman.”

Kate nods “Yes, that’s probably your best bet.”

I ask “Isn’t he that frost giant you rescued?”

 “He is descended from the Aesir and can make himself look like any human form.”

I clarify “A descendant of Loki, then. He deals in information, right?”

Kate and Derek exchange looks. Kate answers “Yes.”

I add “And he has a full state-of-the art magical laboratory?”

Kate cautions “But he charges a lot of money for his services.”

I roll my eyes; a habit I have picked up from Barabas. “I’m sure he does.”

The next day I am on my way to visit Saiman. Barabas decided he was coming with me. Saiman lives in some very fancy apartments. I walk up and demand “Saiman’s apartment.”

The guy gives me a look “Is he expecting you?”

I smile “Call and ask if he wants to see Deimos.”

“He says you can go right up. 15th floor.” I nod and get on the elevator.

Barabas follows me “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I shrug “No, but it should be interesting.” We get out of the elevator and knock on Saiman’s door.

He opens it a minute later “Not very many people show up to my door claiming to be a god, and an obscure one at that. Please come in.” We enter. Saiman asks “Can I get you a drink?”

I smile “Thanks, but no. I wouldn’t want it to interfere with testing.”

Saiman asks “What testing?”

I take a seat across from him on the couch. Barabas settles casually next to me. “I was informed that you have the best private magic lab in the city. I want a full magical workup.”

Saiman smiles “Who recommended you to me?”

“Kate.”

“And did she inform you of my prices? What would you like a magical workup of?”

“Myself. I am aware of your prices, I thought they might be negotiable.”

Saiman tilts his head, interested. Got him. “Why do you wish to test yourself? You have already claimed to be a god.”

I nod “Now we are getting to the interesting part. The god Deimos was forcibly implanted in my psyche. Having recovered, I would now like to see what type of being I have become. Am I human, a god or what? My abilities are very different than they used to be.”

Saiman raises an eyebrow “Interesting. Tell me more.”

“After you agree to give me access to the laboratory.” I pause just enough “Unless you would prefer to perform the tests yourself?”

Saiman responds “I don’t allow people in my laboratory unsupervised. My standard rate for something like that would be $5000 dollars.”

I counter “How about 5 questions?”

Saiman asks “Why would I want to ask you 5 questions?”

I smile “Because I am Christopher Steed, former legatus of the Golden Legion.”

Saiman smiles like a shark, understanding the value of those questions. “And you swear to answer these questions truthfully and completely?”

“Of course.”

“And you will provide the information necessary for testing your abilities separately from the questions?”

He’s smart. “I suppose so. It would only be fair, now wouldn’t it?”

Saiman looks at Barabas closely for the first time “And why bring the weremongoose?”

“He’s my friend. He was worried about my meeting you alone. You have gathered quite the reputation among the pack.”

Saiman finally puts it all together. “How did I not recognize you?”

I raise a single eyebrow “You don’t seem the type to take notice of the unimportant and insane.”

Barabas mutters “Or it could be the suit.”

I ask “Do we have a deal?”

Saiman assesses me carefully. “We do.”

“Excellent.”

A few hours later, we walk out of the building. I have a lot to think about, and Saiman is quite happy with his new information. Barabas has an expression on his face that I can’t really place. We get in the car. I ask “What?”

Barabas frowns “I didn’t say anything.”

I look at him “That’s what has me concerned. You were really quiet that whole time.”

Barabas sighs and starts the car. He replies, “It’s weird to see you do something like that.”

I frown “Like what?”

“Walk into the lair of the dragon and strike a deal. You got everything you wanted for five questions. That’s impressive.”

Okay. “I wouldn’t have considered that a good deal, except that I wanted Saiman to have that information. The information he got is much more valuable than the information I received.”

Barabas demands “You wanted him to know that information?”

I nod “Most of it.”

Barabas replies “Dude, you literally gave away the keys to Roland’s castle.”

“And what is Saiman going to do with that?”

“Maybe nothing, maybe cause a lot of trouble.”

I smile “And he’ll do it in a way unconnected to him, and therefore us.”

Barabas catches on quite quickly “So you just guaranteed Roland a few major problems.”

“Yup.”

“I get the feeling you’ve done this sort of thing before.”

I consider “Sort of. I mean, I reached a high rank in the Golden Legion, which requires a certain amount of spying and backstabbing as well as power.”

Barabas doesn’t say anything to that, so I add “This feels like a fresh start, where I can be the person that I want to be, but I can’t just ignore years of experience.”

Barabas asks “Are you mad at Roland?”

I feel my new fangs start to elongate. Control. “I want to destroy Nimrod.”

Barabas glances at me. “Okay.”

I shrug “Revenge, I suppose, and to assure that this doesn’t happen again.”

“What happen again?”

I raise an eyebrow “You think I am the only subject he will experiment on? If my power were less, my will any weaker, you would not be talking to me, you’d have a ravaging god of terror wandering the earth. Especially now that he knows that I have recovered my wits.”

Barabas gasps “You mean, he’s trying to make an army of gods, bent to his will?”

“He believes he can control any person, so he makes the god subservient to the person.”

“Then he has literal gods at his command. That’s very concerning. But is could end up working to our benefit. I doubt many gods will want to remain under control of a human.”

I argue “Yes, but are loose gods any better? Assuming I am the first attempt, these aren’t nice gods Roland is summoning. Would you start with the god of terror if you were planning a party?”

Barabas laughs, and it lights up his face. “Definitely not. I see your point, I don’t think anyone wants a bunch of war gods on the loose. Speaking of which, how good is your control?”

I reply “Exceptional. It must be, to control vamps. And I need every bit of that hard-earned control when people get scared.”

Barabas asks “Why?”

I shrug “Deimos is the god of terror. And as he is integrated into my psyche, I am the god of terror. The representation of fear dreamt up by the ancient Greeks. Think of a predator. When there is any weakness to be found, my instincts say to pounce and drain them of life. And the closest metaphor for life is blood, I have vampire fangs.”

Barabas nods “That makes sense.” I was expecting a little bit more horror and dismay. He goes on “So basically you have very strong predatory instincts mixed with a little bloodlust.”

I shrug “Sort of. It is more directly linked to fear, though. And everything else stems from that. Like if a creature was weak or injured but not afraid, none of Deimos’s instincts would be triggered.”

“That’s really interesting. Can you sense fear all the time?”

“Like a shark smells blood in the water. It’s very distracting.”

Barabas asks “So all those tests you just did, what did you learn?”

“I have improved vision, hearing, smell, fangs, wings, and a completely different magical signature. My mental abilities are all mostly the same, but my personality is different. I have no idea how much of the personality change is from Deimos and how much is from being crazy.”

Barabas looks at me and grins “And your favorite coping mechanism is to research something to death.”

I tease “How did you ever guess?” I look at him, and our eyes meet with a little spark. Barabas quickly looks back to the road, but not before I see the flash of interest. I thought so.


	3. Chapter 3

I am meeting with Kate to discuss some legal issues of one of her most recent cases. It is going well, and we are wrapping up when she asks “So, have you made a move on Christopher yet?”

I try not to bare my teeth, but I don’t know if I am successful. “What are you talking about?”

Kate rolls her eyes “Don’t even try that with me. Give me the gossip, you’re already living together.”

I glare “There’s nothing going on.”

“Really? Do you want there to be?”

I stand “None of your business, Kate. Now I believe we are finished here?”

She sighs and nods “Have a nice day.” I walk back to my house. Christopher is in the kitchen, cooking something for dinner.

I ask “What’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs. Simple and easy.” I sit down on the couch. Chris asks “Long day? Kate giving you a hard time again?”

I shrug it off “No, not really. I do have a question I’ve been pondering.”

“Go ahead.”

I start ranting “Can magic exist during tech?”

Christopher shrugs “Well, there’s no magic entering the world during tech. But my wings work.”

“But are those magic? And there’s other stuff. Like m-scans can still work sometimes.”

“So we’re talking residual magic.”

I question “But is it? If the magic stays through until the next wave…”

Chris nods “Residual would imply that it is vanishing.”

I complain “And there’s all these nebulous areas that aren’t really magic but aren’t tech either.”

“Such as?”

I realize I am pacing around the room. “Like shapeshifters, phones, prophetic visions, etc.…”

“Phones, right. There’s a theory that people believe they will work, so they do. The power of believing, if it were.”

I expand “Sort of. That would make sense if it only affected things during magic, but it also works during tech, sometimes. Like lyc-V works all the time, despite being magic in origin, but magical plagues stop during tech.”

Christopher smiles “That sounds like a hypothesis I heard a while back, that the magic waves are propelled by belief. That the world would have shifted entirely to magic, but so many people failed to accept it that the tech made a resurgence.”

I frown “That makes a certain amount of sense. But it doesn’t totally explain things.” I am standing right in front of Chris.

He reaches out and taps my nose “You’re adorable when you’re confused.” I flash teeth at him. He grins “That’s even cuter.” I grab and kiss him. There’s a fraction of a second where he doesn’t respond, and I start to pull away. Then Chris pulls me toward him with force and returns the kiss. Finally, we pull apart to take a breath.

I apologize “I didn’t mean to do that.”

Christopher ignores me “It’s about time.” Then we are kissing again, our bodies pressed together, and gorgeous hands running over my skin. It feels like all the nerves in my body are on fire, and I moan and grind closer. Drowning in sensation I take a breath.

Chris is pressed against the counter and our arms are around each other, our faces inches apart. I mutter “I wasn’t even sure if you were gay.”

He laughs softly “I’m bi, actually.” He tilts his head kisses my neck. I feel a shudder of heat all the way down my spine. I moan and push back, letting my hands trail underneath his shirt. A buzzer goes off by the stove, and I ignore it for a few seconds and then pull back.

I mutter “Something’s about to explode in the kitchen.”

Christopher replies “Yeah, me.” He picks me up and spins me, so I am sitting on the counter. “Don’t go anywhere.” He turns off everything and walks back to me.

I jump off the counter “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

His eyes light up, filled with passion “And why not?”

I take a step back, trying to keep distance “I don’t want to complicate things.”

He takes a step forward. “Things are already complicated. This makes them more fun.”

I slide back a little bit, trying to keep reason “I don’t want to push you into something you’re not ready for.”

He laughs, a deep rolling sound that sends shivers down my spine. “Believe me, I know exactly what I’m doing.” My back hits another wall, and I realize that he’s been stalking me. He traps me against the wall. “The real question is, do you want me?”

I shudder “Yes.” I pull his face forward for a kiss. I inhale his scent, and it screams mate. The last bit of my control vanishes, and I tear through his shirt. He bucks me against the wall, and I don’t even realize my shirt is gone until we are pressed chest to chest. I groan “You’re mine.” I get a nod in reply and can’t help as my nails run over his back, marking him as mine. He groans into me in reply, and I feel him harden through the jeans. I start working the waistband of his pants.

He stops my hand. I gaze at him through eyes lidded with lust and fervor. He groans “We may want a bed.” The idea penetrates the thick fog of passion, and I scoop him off his feet and carry him away.

In the morning I wake up feeling more satisfied than I remember being for a while. I look next to me and see Christopher naked and I to remember why… Oh, that happened. I start to slide out of bed, and a hand grabs my wrist. I look over, and see Chris blinking his eyes open. He demands “Going somewhere?” I freeze, trying to remember why I thought this was a bad idea. He presses a soft kiss to my palm, and I moan and arch my back. Christopher whispers “Delightful.” I straddle him and take his mouth is a carnal assault. Needless to say, I am very late to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, let me know what you think!


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